The first engagement of
the Civil War took place at
Fort Sumter on April 12
and 13, 1861. After 34
hours of fighting, the Union
surrendered the fort to the
Confederates. From 1863
to 1865, the Confederates
at Fort Sumter withstood a
22 month siege by Union
forces. During this time,
most of the fort was
reduced to brick rubble.
Fort Sumter
Charleston Harbor,
South Carolina
Union Commander
: Major Anderson
Confederate Commander:
General Beauregard
April 12-14, 1861
Casualties:None
Winner:Confederate
Significance:
•First battle of Civil War.
•Raised false hopes for a
quick war.
•Lincoln then asked for
100,000 volunteers.
•General Beauregard was a
student of Major Anderson
while at Westpoint...weird!!
First Battle of Bull Run July 1861
Public demand pushed General-in-Chief Winfield Scott to advance on the
South before adequately training Union troops. Scott ordered General Irvin
McDowell to advance on Confederate troops stationed at Manassas Junction,
Virginia. McDowell attacked on July 21, and was initially successful, but the
introduction of Confederate reinforcements resulted in a Southern victory and
a chaotic retreat toward Washington by federal troops.
First Bull Run
Manassas, Virginia
Union Commander: General Irwin McDowell
Confederate Commander: General Joe
Johnston July 21, 1861
Casualties: Union-2,446, Confederate-1,600
Winner: Confederate
Stonewall Jackson
Significance:
•First large battle of the war.
•Confederates routed an unprepared Union
force.
•Casualties shocked the North and South.
•They now believed the war would not be
quick nor easy.
•During this battle, General Thomas J.
Jackson earned the name, “Stonewall” by
inspiring his troops to stand firm under the
Union attack.
Shiloh was a decisive and bloody battle. The South
needed a win to make up defeats in Kentucky and
Tennessee. It also needed to stop the Union’s attack
down the Mississippi Valley. Memphis and Vicksburg
were now vulnerable, and after Corinth there was now
doubt that those cities would be the next targets.
Johnston and Beauregard made a surprise attack while
the Union rested. Grant and his men lost their overconfidence after this near defeat. They now knew that
this war was going to be, in the words of a Union
Soldier, "A very bloody affair."
The Confederacy caught General Grant by surprise and almost
destroyed his army the first day. On the second day Grant was
reinforced and forced the Confederates back to Corinth.
Shiloh, Tennessee
Union Commander:
General Ulysses Grant
Confederate:
General Albert Sydney Johnston
April 6-7, 1862
Casualties:
Union-13,047
Confederate-10,694
Winner: Union
Significance:
•This ended the Southern hope of
ever regaining Tennessee.
•The first battle with truly large
casualties. The casualties were
higher than any America had ever
seen.
•Grant temporarily lost his position in
command.
•This greatly slowed the Union
advance down the Mississippi valley
To the right is a
monument
where he fell.
General Albert Sydney Johnston was considered the
finest general in either army before the war began.
He bled to death on the first day of Shiloh from a
wound to the leg while leading a charge through an
orchard.
The single
bloodiest day
of the Civil War
Lee invaded Maryland hoping the state would
help the South. Instead, Lee was pinned down
at Antietam creek by George McClellan after his
plans were discovered wrapped around some
cigars.
2nd Bullrun
Antietam Creek
Sharpsburg, Maryland
Union Commander: General George
McClellan
Confederate Commander:General
Robert E. Lee
September 17, 1862
Casualties: Union-12,410
Confederate-13,724
Winner: Union…barely!
Significance:
•One of only 2 major battles fought in
the North.
•The bloodiest day of the war.
•The Union forced Lee back to the
South.
•This victory was what Lincoln needed
to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
General Joseph Hooker took control of the Union
Army after General Burnside made his blunder at
Fredericksburg. One part of his army crossed the
Rappahannock south of Fredericksburg, the other
crossed the river 12 miles to the north at
Chancellorsville. Hooker successfully outflanked
Lee. Or so he thought….
At 6 PM on May 2nd, Jackson launched his attack on
the unsuspecting Union flank. Meanwhile Jackson
himself was wounded by his own men. He died a few
days later. Hooker ordered his forces to attack from
the south and they were successful in driving back the
rebels. This force was ordered to advance and attack
Lee's main body from the rear. Unfortunately, the
inactivity of Hookers forces in front of Lee allowed
him to turn his army to the rear. The Union forces
were forced back across the Rappahannock. Once
again Lees superior generalship and Union
incompetence had bested a Union forces twice his
size.
Joseph
Hooker
Lee
Chancellorsville, Virginia
Union Commander: General Joseph
Hooker
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee
May 1-4, 1863
Casualties: Union-17,278 Confederates12,821
Winner: Confederacy
Significance:
•Hooker was out maneuvered by
Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
•Considered the greatest
Confederate victory of the war.
•Stonewall Jackson was
accidently shot by his own troops.
He died a week later.
At the time of the Civil War, the Mississippi River
was the single most important economic feature of
the continent. Confederate forces closed the river,
which hurt the northern economy.
Grant realized that Vicksburg could not be taken by
storm and decided to lay siege to the city. Slowly his
army established a line of trenches and dirt forts
around Vicksburg and cut it off from supply and
communications with the outside world.
Starting in May Union forces constructed
thirteen trenches aimed at different points
along the Confederate defense. In June they
dug up to the Confederate line, tunneled
underneath, and blew up the tunnels filled
with black powder to destroy the rebel
trenches. The rebels were out of food, out
of ammunition and they were clearly
losing. They surrendered on July 4th.
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Union Commander: General
Ulysses Grant
Confederate: General Joseph
E. Johnston
May 19- July 4 1863
Casualties:
Union Casualties: 10,142
Confederate Casualties: 9,091
Winner: Union
Significance:
•Grant was bogged down for 3
months
•It was the most important victory in
the west.
•Vicksburg was the key to the
Mississippi.
•The Confederacy was split in two
by the mighty river.
-
Little Roundtop
Robert E. Lee
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Union Commander :
General George Meade
Confederate Commander:
Robert E. Lee
July 1-3, 1863
Casualties: Union-23,049
Confederate-28,063
Winner: Union
After success at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Lee
invades the north again. After trying to break the union
lines for 2 days, Lee tries a frontal assault on entrenched
union forces. This was known as Pickett’s charge. This
attempt failed miserably. Lee ultimately retreats to Virginia.
Significance:
•The turning point of the war.
•This would be the last chance for the
South to win the war and threaten the
North.
Joshua Chamberlain.
Former teacher turned
hero at Gettysburg.
Colonel Chamberlain and the 20th
Maine held the extreme left flank
of the Union line against a fierce
rebel attack, and the surrender of
Lee's Army of Northern Virginia
at Appomattox, when Grant chose
Chamberlain to receive the formal
surrender of weapons and colors
Atlanta, Georgia (Sherman’s march to the sea)
Union Commander: General William Sherman
Confederate Commander: General John Hood
July 20-September 2, 1864
Casualties: Union-31,623
Confederate-35,044
Winner: Union
Significance:
The siege of Atlanta by General Sherman ended
with the burning of the city by Union troops.
After burning the city, Sherman began his
famous march to the sea, during which his
troops looted and plundered their way across
Georgia, destroying nearly everything in their
path.
On April 9, 1865 Robert E. Lee surrendered his
army of Northern Virginia in a little village called
Appomattox Courthouse. Lee surrendered
formally to Ulysses S. Grant. The papers of
formal surrender were signed in the home of
Wilmer Mclean, whose first house was damaged
during the first battle of the Civil War.
Lee surrendered to Grant in this home.